


Let's Pretend

by HookedonCS



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Ginny's accident never happened, Padres win the game, away game instead of home game, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 05:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8955034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HookedonCS/pseuds/HookedonCS
Summary: After they almost kiss, after Mike's trade falls through, after winning an away game... Ginny and Mike celebrate with drinks  together in her hotel room. Supposedly, one drink leads to another. Are they drunk? No, but a little pretending doesn’t hurt to when they both want to give in to their feelings. And isn’t being drunk just the perfect excuse? Really, who is to blame in that scenario?





	

Mike could classify the feeling as being… a slight buzz. Maybe it would have been better if he pushed himself over that edge. Well, maybe...

Things could have been awkward. Hell, things  _ had  _ been awkward. But Gin-  _ Baker-  _ had successfully nipped that in the bud. With a ferocity in her eyes, with authority in her words, she’d said all there had needed to be said. Their almost kiss had been nothing, had meant nothing. So it wasn’t worth mentioning, not worth even  _ thinking  _ about. They were teammates. They had become friends. And friends, true friends, were not easily thrown away. So… let bygones be bygones. A night of drinking- be it bar, club, or hotel room- was normal for them. And it was… good… to be back to normal with the rookie. 

Mike downed another celebratory mouthful from his beer bottle. Yep, definitely buzzed. The game that had ended mere hours ago had been a hard-fought win, lead by Baker. That had only been one more thing to add to his appreciation he had for her. For that reason, he was glad to see he wasn’t the only one seemingly losing themselves in alcohol. Still… He was slow to lower the nearly third-full bottle back to its seat between his legs. 

After an evening of easy reflection and celebration, the Baker’s hotel room had gotten a little quiet. It had gotten a little too intimate. It had gotten a little too difficult to keep away all those things he was supposed to be forgetting about. Her alcohol-laced laugh, yet sobering eyes hadn’t helped the situation in the least. It only reminded him of...

“I should get out of here.” It was only after that deep murmured statement that broke a minute worth of silence left his mouth that he let his gaze slip over to Baker.

From her end of the couch, she gave only a hint of an easy shrug as the rim of her own longneck met her lips, taking a small sip.

“Long night,” she murmured back. She took that moment to turn towards him, her eyes just a little lower than normal, but a facade of calm crossing her features.

The easiness of her smile was gone from her face. Reflection seemed to be hidden in her eyes, and Mike knew it was his own dream wishing that it wasn’t only about the winning game. There was also a hint of an alcohol-induced haze. Apparently that was something they had both needed.

She was beautiful. More than beautiful. She was...

“A good night, but a long one,” Mike agreed gruffly, refusing for just a moment to let his mind imagine what it had felt like to have her wrapped quietly in a hug.

That should have been his cue to get up, to set in motion what they’d already agreed on, Instead, he lifted the beer back to his mouth, taking another healthy swig.

From over the rim, he watched as Baker watched him, her eyes never leaving his. What was on her mind? What was she thinking? Well, he sure as hell knew what  _ wasn’t  _ on her mind. And it wasn’t on his either. Right?

Baker cleared her throat, fairly loudly, as she adjusted her position on the couch from one angle to another.

“Well at least you don’t have to travel too far to a bed.” It came way of an optimistic tone, her eyebrows lifting just slightly.

If she’d asked him to stay, to sleep off his buzz…

Baker wasn’t asking him to stay. She was only stating the fact that he had a hotel room a floor above and many rooms down the hallway.

Mike gripped the bottle tighter in his hand, letting it swing back and forth against his knee. He was stalling. There was no need to stall.

Baker shifted again, this time bringing her leg up onto the couch and bending it at the knee.

“And lucky for me, I have an even shorter travel time,” she told him with a piercing smile. Her head fell back against the couch, followed by her fingers gently laying against her temple. 

That wasn’t an invitation either, he knew. What it sounded like was a woman who’d indulged in her fair share of booze and was done for the night. It sounded like an exit line. And Mike was supposed to take it.

“Ah, get some sleep, Baker,” Mike breathed out, lifting his bottle one final time. He wished the beer was just a bit colder. Or maybe even a bit harder. Something that would help take the growing edge off. “I’m done for the night.” He didn’t linger the way he wanted to. Instead, he pushed himself off the couch, stretching and standing nearly to full height.

“Just make sure to take some of your own advice,” she whispered.

Mike was careful and slow as he turned around to face her, being treated to seeing how sexy her mouth looked as it wrapped back around the rim of the bottle.

He’d almost kissed her. He wasn’t supposed to think about that. It was in the past, It was something that had been put to bed…  _ To bed... _

_ Damn.  _

Mike’s next thought was more impure than the previous.

“See you later.” Holding his bottle loosely between his fingers, his arm fell to his side as he let himself swing back around.

“Mike, wait.” Baker’s voice was a bit uneasy as she scrambled her way off of the couch.

Mike felt the tug of his brows as he watched her move,

“I’ll walk you out,” she said quietly.

There was a part of him that wished it was her way of saying she wasn’t ready to let him go just yet. He wasn’t crazy enough to entertain that thought for too long. 

“Because you don’t trust me to be able to do it on my own power, is that it?” he mused, his eyes glinting down on her.

Baker’s brows rose as she placed both hands on her hips. “I didn’t say I was going to carry you. Just… see you to the door.”

She was close. Not as close as just the other night, but she was close. 

“What if I said…” The space between them lessened by the single step that Mike took towards her. “A helping hand would probably do me some good?:

Baker’s smile was small as she shook her head. “Neither one of us is  _ that  _ drunk.” 

Mike took a hard swallow. “Are you sure?”

Her smile turned into a classic Ginny Baker goofy grin as she pushed all ten fingers through her hair.

“I’m pretty sure,” she mused, but sounding anything but. It was then that she looked up at him, her smile genuine as ever. “Tipsy, but…”

Mike wanted to grab her up in his arms, only for a hug. But after what had happened….

He craved her touch, literally  _ craved  _ it. She had been so close before, and yet they’d both slipped away. And now he was craving her touch. Not that it mattered. They weren’t there yet. They weren’t truly over what had happened that night. It was too soon. They may have spent an evening drinking, talking, amusing one another, but… they hadn’t reached  _ that  _ level of being okay with one another again. Unless…

Mike threaded his fingers from his free hand through his hair just as she had done.

“Then that makes two of us,” he murmured.

“And that’s why you’re making sure to get straight to bed from here,” Baker said lightly.

“Ginny.” Her name left his mouth quickly.

“Mike?” she sighed restlessly, her hand moving down one arm before both found her hips once more.

He hadn’t meant to speak it. He knew it had been the rarest of occasions when he’d said it. He knew that the last time he’d said it… And maybe that was why she sounded so awkward when he said it this time. 

“I can make it on my own.” Mike’s frown deepened. He felt himself becoming frustrated. The source of that frustration was unclear, but he was sure it had to do with Ginny Baker. Past, present, or future endeavors was the part he wasn’t sure about.

Mike stepped around her, his gaze being held on the floor.

“Lawson.” His name left her mouth sounding just as frustrated.

Baker’s hand closing around bicep paused Mike. It more than paused him. It hadn’t been that long, had it? No, it hadn’t been that long since a woman had touched him. And he was sure as hell that she hadn’t meant it the way his body had taken it.

“What?” The question probably left his mouth more terse than need be. He turned back to look at her  “What is it, Baker?”

She’d been with the team for three months, so Mike was sure she was used to his bursts of irritability. So… She stayed close.  _ This  _ was almost as close as they had been before. Baker’s hand stayed at his arm, even as he turned fully around to face her. And then it was her fingers, twisting into the fabric of his shirt.

Mike watched silently as she took in a deep breath. As close as she was, her eyes had found a spot on his shoulder and settled there.

“You know why that wouldn’t work, right?”

He was only a little drunk, and maybe that wasn’t enough. Because even though he knew what Gin- she was… a lot of things, including  _ Ginny- _ meant by  _ that _ , he was more than happy to ignore it.

_ No, Ginny. Explain why  _ that  _ won’t work. _

Mike pursed his lips and his chin tilted slightly down.

“Good night.” Because wasn’t that really all there was to say in that moment?

Baker hissed in air between her teeth just as her wide brown eyes flew up to his.

“Just how tipsy are you?” she asked quietly, her fingers unclenching from his arm to slide even farther up.

There was something about the way that question left her mouth. There was something hopeful, nervous, unsure about her touch.

Mike’s gaze slid from hers, to those fingers slipping oh so carefully, and then back again.

“About as tipsy as you need me to be,” he finally murmured. “Just about falling down drunk, if that’s what you want.” If that’s what she needed to make his dreams come to fruition. “How about you, Baker?” Mike felt the small unconscious swallow as he watched the indecision mix with want cross her face. “How tipsy are you?”

What did it mean when they had found themselves in a similar position as before? This time, god damn it, there wasn’t going to be a rude interruption like before. The only thing that stood in their way… was Baker’s answer.

A kiss. That’s all he… Well, maybe that was going too far. A kiss. A kiss would sate him. It would help make all those lingering thoughts that hadn’t left his mind settle. A kiss might… make him crave her more. It was a risk his was willing to take. If…

Baker opened her mouth, her lips slowly parting and her eyes blinking once then twice up at him.

“Enough tipsy that… I’d forget all about… this… in the morning.” Her words were slow, but not so careful. And then she was moving even closer, her eyes blinking for a third and fourth time.

Mike felt himself freeze. There was a part of him that loved the idea of closing the small gap between them, clasping his hand to the back of her head, kissing her with all the heat that was inside of him. There was another part of him that loved the idea of Baker closing that gap, moving in close and letting her lips just whisper against his own lips until she opened her mouth wide on his.

He just wanted a kiss. For now, he just wanted a kiss. And he had a goddamn hard time reminding the rest of his body that that was the truth.

“It’s already forgotten.” It was a raspy promise as Mike bent to place his inconvenient bottle to the floor beside him. When he stood up again to full height, he was grateful for the fact that Baker hadn’t let his chore distract them from what was to be forgotten in a matter of moments after it happened. 

Her hands were careful as they made their way to his waist, holding on to his shirt. Her eyes were a bit bright, a bit curious. And her mouth was teasing as her tongue came out to swipe quickly across her lips. 

To hell with it all…

Mike almost spoke her name. Almost.  _ Ginny.  _ It hadn’t quite made it out before he brought both his hands around to the back of her head, pushing his fingers through her hair and bringing her all the closer to him.

It wasn’t him alone. It was Ginny who had turned her face up into his. It was Ginny who sought out his mouth first. It was Ginny who held on to him the firmest, her fingers clutching at his shirt and dragging him closer.

No matter the intensity of either one’s hold, the kiss was soft, sweet. Pressed together, holding on for dear life to her hair, Ginny’s kiss was sweet. A press of lips to lips, setting his body on fire. And then just a whisper of her lips gliding across his, a sweet and soft moan, before a firmer press brought her mouth open over his.

It was Ginny in control, mouth slanting, mouth opening, mouth tasting and giving.

Mike felt his eyelids droop, felt a warmth spread across his gut, as he held her close. His fingers followed the path she lead, entranced by the feel and control she’d had.

One kiss. One time. Because they were tipsy. Just a little bit drunk. Drunk enough to never remember that this had happened…

One kiss…

One time…

Mike took that moment to deepen that kiss. One hand left its hold on her hair, finding her shoulder, slipping down her arm, finding her own hand, and gripping over the hold she had on his shirt.

One time. 

One kiss.

That’s all he promised himself. That’s all she’d consented to.

It was the feel of her grip loosening on his shirt, it was the feel of her hand making its own trail, up his stomach, over his chest, onto his shoulder, up his neck, and finally across his bearded cheek. She held on there, her fingers slipping and caressing his beard as she kissed him in earnest.

It was that sweet moan that almost did him in…

One kiss, right? Or one long overdue makeout session as Mike clung to Ginny and she clung back.

He wasn’t ready for her to pull back. He hated when she pulled back, hated losing that heat that they’d created together. And his mind couldn’t help but conjure up an immediate thought of lifting her off her feet and carrying her to the aforementioned bed that was waiting for her.

“Falling down drunk, right?” Ginny’s question was a quiet murmur as she took a step back that separated them all the more.

Mke could still taste her on his lips as he licked at them. His eyes squinted at her.

“Just about,” he murmured back.

Her hands went from clasping in front of her to finding spots on her hips once more.

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” She wasn’t so quick to meet his gaze. “Like I said… I’m going to hit the bed.”

Was she phased by what that was? He sure as hell was phased.

“Right.” Mike bent back down and picked up his previously disposed bottle. He also took that moment to damn near enveloped his bottom lip, sucking in any remnants of Baker. “Right.” He stood back up, noticing the way she had slipped to the side to give him room and access to his exit.

“You said you could see yourself out,” she said quickly, only letting a little bit of nerves shows.

Mike was just as quick to nod. “I got it.” He took a step in the direction of the door.

“See you later.” 

He got that, too. It was time to go. 

“See you later.” It came out slow, cautious, and maybe a little confused.

“Sleep it off.”

That time Mike threw a look back at her towards her profile, more than cautious, more than a little confused.

“Yeah, Baker.”

She turned around to look at him, eyes still a wide and lips parted.

“You do the same.” Mike offered up a lift of his chin before he turned around. His steps towards the door were strong and silent. 

They didn’t match what he was feeling in the least.


End file.
